Rice production in Nigeria
Nigeria: Rice production was 9.13 million tonnes in 2024. ◆ Volatile
Latest (2024)
9.13 million tonnes
Change on year
up 2.6%
World rank
14th
of 143 countries
All-time high
9.13 million tonnes
in 2024
All-time low
133,000 tonnes
in 1961
Years of data
64
1961–2024
Rice production in Nigeria, 1961–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.
Analysis
In 2024, rice production in Nigeria stood at 9.13 million tonnes. That is the highest value across all 64 years on record.
The figure is up 2.6% on the previous year and up 36.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rice production in Nigeria peaked at 9.13 million tonnes in 2024 and was at its lowest, 133,000 tonnes, in 1961.
That places Nigeria 14th out of 143 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Rice production in Nigeria, year by year
| Year | tonnes | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 133,000 tonnes | — |
| 1962 | 257,000 tonnes | +93.2% |
| 1963 | 195,000 tonnes | -24.1% |
| 1964 | 220,000 tonnes | +12.8% |
| 1965 | 231,000 tonnes | +5.0% |
| 1966 | 199,000 tonnes | -13.9% |
| 1967 | 385,000 tonnes | +93.5% |
| 1968 | 353,000 tonnes | -8.3% |
| 1969 | 325,000 tonnes | -7.9% |
| 1970 | 343,000 tonnes | +5.5% |
| 1971 | 388,000 tonnes | +13.1% |
| 1972 | 447,000 tonnes | +15.2% |
| 1973 | 487,000 tonnes | +8.9% |
| 1974 | 525,000 tonnes | +7.8% |
| 1975 | 504,000 tonnes | -4.0% |
| 1976 | 218,000 tonnes | -56.7% |
| 1977 | 408,000 tonnes | +87.2% |
| 1978 | 515,000 tonnes | +26.2% |
| 1979 | 750,000 tonnes | +45.6% |
| 1980 | 1.09 million tonnes | +45.3% |
| 1981 | 1.24 million tonnes | +13.9% |
| 1982 | 1.25 million tonnes | +0.7% |
| 1983 | 1.28 million tonnes | +2.4% |
| 1984 | 1.30 million tonnes | +1.6% |
| 1985 | 1.43 million tonnes | +10.0% |
| 1986 | 1.42 million tonnes | -1.0% |
| 1987 | 1.78 million tonnes | +25.7% |
| 1988 | 2.08 million tonnes | +16.9% |
| 1989 | 3.30 million tonnes | +58.7% |
| 1990 | 2.50 million tonnes | -24.3% |
| 1991 | 3.23 million tonnes | +29.0% |
| 1992 | 3.26 million tonnes | +1.1% |
| 1993 | 3.06 million tonnes | -6.0% |
| 1994 | 2.43 million tonnes | -20.8% |
| 1995 | 2.92 million tonnes | +20.3% |
| 1996 | 3.12 million tonnes | +6.9% |
| 1997 | 3.27 million tonnes | +4.7% |
| 1998 | 3.27 million tonnes | +0.2% |
| 1999 | 3.28 million tonnes | +0.1% |
| 2000 | 3.30 million tonnes | +0.6% |
| 2001 | 2.75 million tonnes | -16.6% |
| 2002 | 2.93 million tonnes | +6.4% |
| 2003 | 3.12 million tonnes | +6.4% |
| 2004 | 3.33 million tonnes | +7.0% |
| 2005 | 3.57 million tonnes | +7.0% |
| 2006 | 4.04 million tonnes | +13.3% |
| 2007 | 3.19 million tonnes | -21.2% |
| 2008 | 4.18 million tonnes | +31.2% |
| 2009 | 3.55 million tonnes | -15.1% |
| 2010 | 4.47 million tonnes | +26.1% |
| 2011 | 4.61 million tonnes | +3.1% |
| 2012 | 5.43 million tonnes | +17.8% |
| 2013 | 5.82 million tonnes | +7.1% |
| 2014 | 6.69 million tonnes | +15.0% |
| 2015 | 7.57 million tonnes | +13.2% |
| 2016 | 7.81 million tonnes | +3.2% |
| 2017 | 7.84 million tonnes | +0.3% |
| 2018 | 8.40 million tonnes | +7.3% |
| 2019 | 8.44 million tonnes | +0.4% |
| 2020 | 8.17 million tonnes | -3.1% |
| 2021 | 8.34 million tonnes | +2.1% |
| 2022 | 8.50 million tonnes | +1.9% |
| 2023 | 8.90 million tonnes | +4.7% |
| 2024 | 9.13 million tonnes | +2.6% |
Nigeria compared with similar countries
- Nigeria's 9.13 million tonnes is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 407,632 tonnes, 22.4× the median. (38 countries reporting)
- Nigeria's 9.13 million tonnes is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 212,050 tonnes, 43.1× the median. (40 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Rice production in Nigeria changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 | +93.2% | 133,000 tonnes | 257,000 tonnes |
| 1967 | +93.5% | 199,000 tonnes | 385,000 tonnes |
| 1977 | +87.2% | 218,000 tonnes | 408,000 tonnes |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 255,333 tonnes | 133,000 tonnes | 385,000 tonnes | 9 |
| 1970s | 458,500 tonnes | 218,000 tonnes | 750,000 tonnes | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.62 million tonnes | 1.09 million tonnes | 3.30 million tonnes | 10 |
| 1990s | 3.03 million tonnes | 2.43 million tonnes | 3.28 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2000s | 3.39 million tonnes | 2.75 million tonnes | 4.18 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2010s | 6.71 million tonnes | 4.47 million tonnes | 8.44 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2020s | 8.61 million tonnes | 8.17 million tonnes | 9.13 million tonnes | 5 |
Countries ranked near Nigeria
More reference data data for Nigeria
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.77 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 19.51 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 27 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 2.62 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 27 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 5.94 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 5.8 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 81.9 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 121.16 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 14.27 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rice production in Nigeria?
- Rice production in Nigeria was 9.13 million tonnes in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest rice production recorded in Nigeria?
- The highest recorded value was 9.13 million tonnes in 2024.
- What is the lowest rice production recorded in Nigeria?
- The lowest recorded value was 133,000 tonnes in 1961.
- How does Nigeria rank for rice production?
- Nigeria ranks 14th out of 143 countries with data for 2024.
- Is rice production rising or falling in Nigeria?
- Over the last ten years it is up 36.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Nigeria data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Rice production. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 64 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Rice production is measured in tonnes.